A Brother's Love
by weirdgirl42
Summary: Set a few months after Miller's Crossing.  John makes a stop on Earth to tell someone something they should know.


_Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I did there would be no Katie because that plot serves no purpose._

_Author's note: This came to me as I was watching "Miller's Crossing." I wondered what Jeannie would do if she knew what Rodney had been willing to do._

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**A Brother's Love**

John Sheppard took a deep breath before knocking on the door in front of him. After a moment the door opened. "Hey Kaleb," he said.

Kaleb Miller's face fell as he the man at the door. "She's not going with you again," he said by way of hello.

"That's not why I'm here," John said quickly. At that point Jeannie appeared in the doorway.

"Oh god," she said, "something happened to Mer."

"No," John assured her. "No I was on Earth for my nephew's birthday and I wanted to see if I could talk to you for a minute. I promise it's nothing to do with the Stargate or Atlantis."

Jeannie and Kaleb looked at him skeptically but stood back to allow him to enter. Jeannie offered John some coffee which he accepted. Kaleb quickly made his exit, citing an earlier promise to read Madison a story, which left John and Jeannie alone in the kitchen.

There was an awkward silence as John stirred some sugar into his coffee.

"Why are you here John?" Jeannie asked at last. "If Mer isn't hurt and you don't need my help, why did you fly to Canada on your vacation."

"I said it had nothing to do with the Stargate or Atlantis, I never said I didn't need your help."

"So there is something you need."

"Yes." John put his mug onto the counter and turned to look at his friend's sister. "I need you to forgive him Jeannie."

"What are you talking about? I did forgive him."

"I know you won't return his emails. I know he made plans to visit again and you pulled out at the last minute. He knows you still blame him and it's killing him."

Jeannie stared at him for a moment before looking away. "He dragged me into his world and almost got me killed. He almost took me away from my family. Am I just supposed to forget about that?"

"Of course not. But as someone who's been almost killed by something Rodney's done more than once, you have to know that whatever bravado he puts up he's scared to death every minute of every day that someone he cares about will be hurt because of him."

Jeannie was silent.

"You know what a wraith is right?" John asked after a moment. "You know what they do to feed?"

"Suck life out of humans."

"Yeah. It is not a pleasant experience, believe me. Pain you cannot begin to imagine. It's like your whole body feels nothing but cold and agony." John could see her shudder but he continued. "And the whole time you just want to die and it feels like death will never come. I would not wish that kind of pain on anyone."

"Why are you telling me this? I know what Wallace did for me. I'm grateful everyday for his sacrifice."

John put a hand on her shoulder until she turned to look at him. "Rodney came to me when the Wraith first collapsed. He told me he wanted the wraith to feed on him."

Jeannie stifled a sob that rose from her chest. Imagining her big brother in that kind of pain made her ache inside.

"He demanded it actually," John went on. "Said it had to be him. That he couldn't lose you. I told him we wouldn't be able to make the wraith give him his life back, and he said he knew but he wanted to do it anyway. I wouldn't let him. I told him no. But I know that he was attempting to get into the room with the Wraith when Wallace was culled. I know he would have done it."

Jeannie was crying at this point. Tears slowly making their way down her face as she tried to understand the sacrifice her brother was willing to make. She mocked him so many times for being uncaring, for not understanding the importance of family. Now the words she had spoken to him made her sick to her stomach.

Kaleb walked into the kitchen with Madison on his hip. "What's going on?" he said.

"Mommy why are you crying?" asked Madison.

Jeannie turned to her family, "Kaleb there's something I have to do."

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"Incoming wormhole!"

Sam Carter turned to the gate tech, "IDC?" she asked.

"Colonel Sheppard," he replied.

"Lower the shield," Sam said. Rodney appeared by her side.

"Sheppard's back?" he asked.

"Looks like it."

They walked towards the gate as John and Jeannie stepped across the event horizon.

"Jeannie?" Rodney asked in surprise. In the three months since the nanite incident he'd heard barely anything from her at all. His plans to spend some time with her and her family a month ago had fallen through and he had been fairly certain it was Jeannie's way of telling him to stay out of her life.

Now she was here and walking towards him. As he opened his mouth to ask what was going on she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"Oh god," he said when he felt her tears against his neck, "is Madison okay? Kaleb?"

"They're fine Mer," Jeannie replied. "I just…I wanted to…I'm so sorry. It wasn't your fault Mer. I don't blame you. John told me what you wanted to do for me. I'm sorry I doubted your bravery, your compassion."

Rodney felt himself release a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in for months. A sigh of relief as he held onto his baby sister and rested his forehead against her shoulder. "I'd thought I'd lost you for good this time. I wouldn't know what to do without you Jeannie," he whispered.

"You're my brother," Jeannie told him, "you're not going to have to find out."

The End

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